Toward a History of the Term “Anti-Semitism”

This essay traces the changing meanings of the term “anti-Semitism” from the late nineteenth century to the present. Focusing on Britain, it demonstrates that anti-Semitism, like any other concept, has a history—but in this case, one that remains largely uncharted. The essay draws a contrast between early usages of the term that regarded anti-Semitism as a specifically modern phenomenon and later meanings that have conceived anti-Semitism as a continuous and deep-seated malaise. Changes in the history of the concept of anti-Semitism were closely bound up with the history of minority rights and with the changing relationship of Jews to states. The foundation of the State of Israel in 1948 was a revolution in the relationship of Jews to state power that also led to radical changes in the meanings of anti-Semitism. Acknowledging the sedimented layers of meaning that lie within the concept of anti-Semitism will help us understand why the term has become so contentious in the present.